Bleeder attachment for air brakes



De 2 1931- w. HEFFELFINGER ET AL 18,295

BLEEDER ATTACHMENT FOR AIR BRAKES Original Filed May 21, 1926 III Reissued Dec. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES.

. a Re. 18,295

PATENT"- OFFICE f LEROY w. HEFFELFINGER AND LOUIS J. COURTNEY, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS, AssIeN- ons, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To sAII) LEROY w. HEFEELEINGEE AND LOUIS .I. COURTNEY AND EAY c. HEFIEELFINGER AND HARLAN w. HEZEFELFINGEB, BOTH OF BEATRICE, NEBRASKA Original No. 1,619,821, dated This invention relates, generally, to pressure systems, but has particular relation to a bleeder or relief-valve mechanism, or attachment, to be used in connection with air-brake a mechanism of the ordinary or any preferred construction, as generally employed in railway equipment, to bleed the auxiliary reservoirs and brake-cylinders at the required or desired time or times "to'release the brakes 1.0 previously set or applied, by the pressure from said reservoirs and cylinders.

Heretofore, the above named operation of bleeding the said parts, has been accomplished with a great loss of time by the operator, due

to the fact, that it has in the structures generally in common use, for such purpose, been necessary for him to hold the valve of each relief-valve or bleed-cock open until the brakes have been fully released.

The principal object of our invention is, to provide a bleed attachment for air-brake mechanism, which shall be extremely simple and inexpensive in construction, strong,dur-. able, highly efliclent 1n operatlon, and so made and with its parts so arranged as to be readily applied to air-brake mechanism of a well known construction, if desired, withoIfIt materially altering any of the parts there- 0 Another and important object of the invention is, to furnish in an attachment of the kind herein set forth, means whereby the operation of bleeding the various auxiliary reservoirs and brake-cylinders of a train of cars, can be performed from either side of the train and in such a way, that the act, will require an instant only, for each relief or bleed valve, of the operators time.

A further object is, the provision of means" 40 in our invention, whereby the closure or seat ing of the bleed or relief-valve will be automatically effected in the release movement of the piston of the brake-cylinder.

Various other objects and'advantages of obvious from the following description and explanation, which will be more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying'drawing, which serves to illustrate an embodiment of which the-invention" our invention will be vdisclosed and become March 8, 1927, Serial No. 110,685, filed May 21, 1926. Application for reissue filed August 4, 1928. Serial No. 297,450.

is susceptible, it being understood that changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as they fall withinthe scope of the appended claimsforming a part here- OI.

In the drawings A Fig; 1 is a plan view of a portion of the main pipe or line, an auxiliary reservoir, and a brake-cylinder of an air brake mechanism for railway cars, showing our improvements in place thereon and in about the positions they will occupy when the brakes are set.

Fig. 2 is a side'view of like parts, showing portions thereof in section and others in elevation, and v Fig. 3 is an enlarged detached plan view of'a portion of the bleed valve and the operating lever therefor, the casing of said valv being shown in horizontal section.

Like'numerals of reference refer to corresponding parts throughout the different views of the drawing.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, the main or trainpipe which leads from the locomotive .(not' shown) -to'an auxiliary valve, is indicatedbye the referencenumeral 4, which pipe is con? nected in communication vwith said auxiliary reservoir by means of a cpntrolling valve 5, which forms no part'of our invention, but may be like those found in ordinary air brake construction. The reference numeral 6 designates an auxiliary reservoir supported by the bottom of a car (not shown) in the rectly connectedto the auxiliaryreservoir 6,"

but may befspaced from said reservoir and located more or less remotely therefrom.

Extending from the reservoir 6,"through the same but communicating atone ofits ends fwith the valve casing 5, and at its other end with the brake-cylinder 7 is a pipe 8. The brake-cylinder 7 is provided with apiston 9, which is mounted forreciprocation in said cylinder'on'the'inner end of a'rod 10, which is connected at its other end inthe usual way with the equalizer (not shown), ofthebrake mechanism. The outer head 11 inder head. By'this arrangement, it will.

of said cylinder is provided with an outward extension or neck 12, the bore 13, of which issomewhat larger at .itsportion ad: jacent thepiston 9, than a hollow pistonirod 5 14 adapted to receive the rod 10. Aspringw 15 is coiled around the rod 14 and rests at one' of its ends against the'outer surface of the piston and at itsf other end against a sliou der'16,"at the outer end of the bore 13, in the neck or extension 12 of the outer cylbe understood that that portion of the neck 12, between the ,shoulder 16, and the outer I end of said neck will provide a bearing ,for

the rod 14, in which the rod 10 moves. It willbe understood that the inner end of the rod 14is secured to thepiston 9'in any desired way. The relation between piston 'rod 14 and brake connecting rodlO is well known to thoseskilled in the art.: The outer. end

of the rod 14 has mounted thereon a collar 17, and the outer end of the neck or extension I 12 is surrounded by and has fixed thereto a two-piece yokeor collar 18, which is provided at its upper portion with a forked bracket 19, which is slightly off-set rearwardly' as shown in Fig.2. of the drawings. Between the. forks of the bracket is ful c-rumed a pistonlever 20, the lower portion offlwhich: is provided with prongs 21,.which strike the rod 14, between the collar 17'on saidz'sleeve andthemember 18 on the outer end of-thdextension 12;. The upper. portion of .the piston lever 20 is provided with an arm 22 having a weight 23 thereon and ex tended towardsthe cylinder 7, ass'shownin Fig-.12 of. the drawings, in whi'ch view it will be observed that the upper portionoffthe lever2fl restsupon a wearing plate 24,;;ad-'

92 justably secured by means of ,a longitudinal slot: 25, thereinand a pair of bolts? 26 seated in the outer portion of the operating lever 27: for-tithe bleed. valve and extended through said I slot, when. the brakes. axe-set, and-the and 2 :ofthe drawings.

1 parts are, in'the. positions shownin 1' The opera-ting' lever 27 is, as

outersend with a pair ofoutwardly extended prongs 28, which are spaced fromone'ane other and also from the side edges of. the

wearing plate 24,2thi1s aflording the recesses.

29 and 30 between said prongs and the outer most end of thewearing plate 24, which plate preferablyextends a slight distance out-,

wardly from the lever 27, and as before stated is adjustably secured in position. The other end off the 7 operating lever 27, is, by preference," widened and 7 provided: near =itsisaid widened end-with apair of longitu dinal-slots '31and 32 for pivots 33; and; 34-," respectively, on which pivots the lever 27,:

fulcrums one at a time, owing to the direction ini' which the lever maybe turned.

As shown inilm differentmviews:of-athe.

clearly shown in .3, of they drawings, provided at its drawings, the lever 27, is operatively connected by means of the pivots or fulcrums 33,. and Y34, to the forked shank 35, of the bleed-valvercasing 36,. which shank is by preference longitudinally slotted as shown and isprovided at one end of the said casing 36, the other end' of said casing, being connected by means of a screw threaded nipple pinges with: one end against the adjacent end ofthe operating lever 27,} as shown atv 43, in Fig. 3, of the drawings. The valve 42, is adapted to rest on a valve seat '44, surrounding the stem 41, when-the brakes are in their applied positions. Avcoiled spring 45, is; interposedbetween the web 40, of the nipple,37, and the valve 42, serves to hold the valve-in its closed position as, is obvious. Extended; from each side of the operating lever .27, and :usually. pivotally; connected. theretois an operating rod 46, by the instrumentality ofwhich the operator can'move the lever 27, from eitherside thereof and in op-p posite directions as will be presently eX-,

plained.

,Fixed on -the outer head 11, of the brakecyli-nder 7, and extending laterally therefrom to a pointnear the exhaust pipe 38,

orratherthe shank of the bleed-valve-casing.

36, is, a bracket47, which has a supporting portion 48,-,for said shank-extended longitudinally. with the cylinder 7, and with an out turned flange 49, having a slot 50, through,

which the operating lever is extended and on the floor of which it may rest. The op-..

erating rods 46, for the lever 27, are by preference connected to said lever between the flange 49, of the bracket 47, and the wearing,

plate 24, asxsliownin the different views of the drawings.

The pressure-through the main'or train-v pipe 4, is controlled frolnthe cab of the engine and normally the circuit through said j line, the valve; 5, auxiliary, reservoir ,6, and when the. brakes are set the engineers valve is operated tothrow the pressure from the is auxiliary reservoir to the brake-cylinder to operate the piston therein and therebyfap-f ply the brakes, as is..,well} known., The operation of our device is simple and as follows Assuming that there, is the requisite amount of pressure in the reservoir 6,-and cylinder 7 to firmly set the brakes, the parts will occupy positions shown in the dilferentviews of the drawings, particularly, Figs. 1 and :2 thereof. Now,1when it isde- L (ill sired to bleed the reservoir and to release the brakes, all that is necessary is to move the operating lever 27, by means of one of the rods 46, which may'extend from said lever to the sides of the cars or slightly beyond the same, to be laterally taken hold of, so that the lever 27 will fulcrum on one of the pins 33, or 34, for instance on the last'named pin, when it is obvious the slot 31, in which the pin 33 is located will permit the lever 27 to pivot on the pin 34 and to assume such a position as to cause the valve stem 41 to be moved against the tension of the spring 45, which normally actuates it, thus removing the valve 42 from its seat and thereby permitting the escape of air through the small bleed opening 36 see Fig. 1, in the valve casing of the bleed valve. WVhen in such position as just above described, it will be understood that the lever 27 will have been moved to such an extent as topermit the upper portion of the lever to pass into the recess by reason of the gravity exerted by the weight 23 on said lever where it will be held without the further attention of the operator. When the pressure within the reservoir and brake-cylinder has been sufficiently reduced, it is apparent that the spring 15 exerted on the piston 9 will cause the latter to move in the direction of the reservoir or toward its head opposite the extension 12, in which operation the collar 17 will strike the prongs 21, on the lower por tion of the lever 20, and cause said lever to be disengaged from the edge of the wearing plate 24, which edge forms one side of the recess 30, in which the lever 20 has just been located. At this time the piston will have reached the limit of its release movement and the spring 45, exerting its tension on the valve 42, will through the stem 41 cause the operating lever 27 to assume its normal position, thus causing the lever 20 to assume the positions shown in the drawings. Of course, it will be understood that by moving the lever 27 in a direction opposite to that just above described, the said lever will fulcrum on the pivot 33, when the operatlon of the parts will be the same as above described except that the piston lever 20 Wlll be located in the recess 29 afforded by the prong 28 of the lever 27, and the adjacent side edge of the wearing plate. While our invention is ordinarily positioned horizontally below the car bottom on which it is employed, with the bleed pipe 38, and its valve above the reservoir and cylin der, yet it is obvious that said positionmay be reversed, that is to say, placed in such-a way that the bleed valve will be located below the cylinder, by simply changing the 130- sition of the weighted arm 22, to the opposite side of the piston lever from that shown in the drawings. 7

Having thus fully described our invention,

what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is i 1. In an attachment for air-brakes of the class described, the combination with a trainpipe, of an auxiliary reservoir and brake-cylinder communicatable therewith, a bleed pipe communicating at one of its ends with said reservoir and having its other end'located adjacent the said cylinder, a valve-casing having a bleed opening'and secured to the bleed pipe, a spring-pressed valve within said casing and having a stem extended therefrom, a manually operated valve-lever having two fulcrums whereby it may be operated in opposite directions, said valve-stem contacting with one end of said valveelever, and weighted means co-operating with said valve lever and extended into the path of travel of e movable part carried by said brake-cylinc er.

2. In an attachment for air-brakes of the class described, the combination with a trainpipe, of an auxiliary reservoir and brake-cylinder comm'unicatable therewith, a bleed pipe communicating at one of its ends with said reservoir and having its other end located adjacent the said cylinder, a valve-casing having a bleed opening and secured to the bleed pipe, a spring-pressed valve within said casing and having a stem-extended therefrom, a-manually operated valve-lever having two fulcrums whereby it may be operated in opposite directions, said valve-stem contacting with one end of said valve-lever and a weighted lever coope-rating at one of its ends with said valve-lever and adapted at its other-end to be actuated in one direction by the release movement of the 'piston of said cylinder.

3. In anattachment for air-brakes of the class described, the combination with a trainpipe, of an auxiliary reservoir and brake-cylinder communicatable therewith, a bleed pipe communicating at one end of its ends with said reservoir and having its other end located adjacent the said cylinder, a valve casing having a bleed opening and secured to the bleed pipe, a spring-pressed valve within said casing and having a stem extended therefrom, a manually operated valve-lever having two fulcrums whereby it may be operated in opposite directions, said valve-stem contacting with one end of said valve-lever, a weighted lever tripplingly cooperating at one end of its ends with said valve-lever and striding at its other end a movable part by said cylinder and a stop on said movable part. 4. An attachment of the class described, comprising a bleed-pipe having a bleedvalve, a lever cooperating with said valve for the operation thereof and provided at its end opposite the valve with a pair of spaced recesses, a weighted lever located normally nearone of its ends againstthe valve operating lever between its recesses and provided with a portion or part extended into the path of travel: ot a movable part operated by the piston of the brake-cylinder. c V j V 5. Ina; bleeder, the combination with an air brakezcylinder provided with a brake pis- 5 ton; rod, a bleeding valve'and a valve operating,lever,- 'alatch arm pivotally mounted to swingin the direction-pt movement of said piston, rod,i saidl latch arm cooperating with saidtoperating lever to lock said operating 0 lever in.;a position to hold said valve in open position, and means actuated by the piston rodto eng g and release said latch arm when the pist'on rodhas moved a predeterminedadistance toward the cylinder; 6..I n -a.bleeder,. the combinationlwith an air brake cylinder provided Withabrake piston rod,ia1bleeding valve and a valve'operating lever, and.- armpivotallymounted to I swing; in the direction of movement of said piston rod, there being means cooperating Withisaid' arm to lock said operating lever inraposition to hold said valve in open positiomand means actuated by the piston rod to release said arm when the piston rod has moved a predetermined-distance toward the cylinder.. 7 1 a In. a bleeder, thecombination with an air brake cylinder provided; ,Witha brake piston rod, "a bleeding, valve and a 'valve operating lever, an arm .pivotally' mounted to swing in,the-direction of movement of said piston rod said arm cooperating with said operatin'g lever to lock said operating lever ,in a position to hold. said valve in openposition, 35; and means actuated by, the piston rod to release said'arm whenthepiston rod 'has'moved Sui-predetermined distance toward the cylin- BI'. 7 ln testimony whereof we have subscribed our names this 28th day of July, 1928.- a v LEROY VV. HEF F ELFINGER.

LOUIS J, COURTNEY. 

